Influential Leaders LISTEN, mindfully!
[Part I][i]
I have a neighbour who is partially sighted (for want of a better term).
She has five percent vison on the left, and eight percent on the right. In short, she is blind.
During the past week I helped her with a financial matter that needed urgent attention.
She uses an interactive voice application on her mobile phone for most matters, but it is not useful for some work.
She needed a pair of eyes to ensure she avoided any risks with her financial matters.
On each occasion I spend time with her I appreciate two conditions:
- How well she can see, despite being 95% blind, and
- How poorly many of us with 20/20 vision can hear. Yes—hear.
Without eyesight, she listens with all her other senses, and the gleaned information is then washed through her brain…
When I look into her blue-grey eyes it feels that I can see her mental processes at work, churning around the information, sorting and sifting, finding data points, storing bits and bytes.
I am amongst those who struggles to listen, to listen mindfully.
I know all the theory—two ears and one mouth, use them in the same proportions…
I appreciate that listening opens the door to all the truths offered in the above infographic, that mindful listening is:
-
- Done mostly with the mind—the brain. The ears are only the radar domes that catch the signals.
- Respectful—of ourselves and others
- A source of learning, knowledge and development,
- Receiving information beyond what we hear,
- Making smarter decisions and choices,
- Leading properly, and
- Living meaningful, fuller and better lives.
So, like most Apex Skills, mindful listening is only useful when we do it, and the way to be able to do it, is to practice it.
As we know, any skill, from the primary level all the way through to the Apex Level requires consistent and focused practice.
Practice means doing it in all our life settings—at home, places of learning and work, in our social engagements—wherever we find ourselves.
When we choose to practice Influential Leadership, it is assumed we will be mindful listeners.
After all, one of the eight Behavioural Attributes of Influential Leadership is ‘being thoughtful’, which includes ‘listening’ with all our senses and letting our minds do the necessary work before we respond, before we go off half baked.
My parting observation comes from my partially sighted but better hearing neighbour.
She says she dislikes crowds, large groups of people.
‘There is just too much noise. I cannot hear the messaging through the clutter. It is like everyone is babbling at the same time.’
Next week we shall learn how to unclutter our sound world.
So, how about you and I doing better at just one iLP practice over the next week?
Target one person that you will listen to with all your senses, every time you engage with them.
Your partner, a child, a parent, a teacher, a learner, a manager, a staff member, a team member…
Look at them, listen carefully, process the messaging, let time pass, tell them you need to think about what they said, have no ready answers…
Try it!
Regards,
Colin @ Karoo
We Activate Apex Skills!
Leadership Weekly Note: 2124.200524
e: colind@karoo.world
Follow The Karoo Influential Leadership on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KarooInfluentialLeadership
[i] Part II in the forthcoming Note (2224.270524)
